Kyiv’s Pechersky District Court freezes assets of ex-president Poroshenko

The Pechersky District Court of Kyiv granted the motion to freeze the assets of ex-president Petro Poroshenko within the case over coal supplies from the temporarily occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

The relevant judgment was made by investigating judge Vita Bortnytska on January 6, Poroshenko's lawyer Ihor Holovan told journalists after the court hearing.

"Investigating judge Bortnytska granted the motion to freeze the assets of Petro Poroshenko," he said.

According to Holovan, the full text of the judgment will be read out on January 14.

The defense team plans to file an appeal against this ruling, the lawyer added.

Holovan noted that the court froze Poroshenko's assets indicated in his declaration.

As reported, Poroshenko is currently abroad and plans to return to Ukraine on January 17.

Earlier it became known that the Prosecutor General's Office approved a motion to choose a pre-trial restraint for former president Petro Poroshenko in the form of arrest with a bail set at UAH 1 billion.

In addition, the Pechersky District Court of Kyiv held a closed hearing, during which the investigating judge considered and endorsed the motion of the Prosecutor General's Office to detain Poroshenko for taking him to a court hearing at which the pre-trial restraint would be chosen.

On December 20, ex-president Petro Poroshenko was charged with treason and aiding the terrorist organizations within the case over coal supplies from certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

The officers of the State Bureau of Investigation and the Security Service of Ukraine are investigating a criminal case on the organization of a criminal scheme of supplying coal from the temporarily occupied territories and financing terrorist organizations "LPR" and "DPR" by a group of Ukrainian citizens totaling about UAH 1.5 billion.

The proceedings are carried out under Part 1 and Part 3 of Art. 258-5 (financing of terrorism), Part 1 of Art. 111 (treason) and Part 1 of Art. 258-3 (aiding terrorist organization) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

In September-November 2021, MP Viktor Medvedchuk and former energy minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn were served with charges within this case.

The prosecutor's office filed a motion to the court to choose a pre-trial restraint for Medvedchuk in the form of detention in custody with the bail set at UAH 1 billion. The court put Medvedchuk under the round-the-clock house arrest.

Former minister Demchyshyn is currently wanted.